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Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama's approval rating dropped eight percentage points over the past month, to 45%, the president's lowest rating in more than a year and a half, according to a new national poll.

The CNN/ORC International survey released Monday morning comes as the White House has been reacting to controversies over a massive U.S. government surveillance program; the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of tea party and other conservative groups who applied for tax-exempt status; the administration's handling of last September's attack in Benghazi that left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans dead; and the Justice Department's secret collection of journalists' phone records as part of a government investigation into classified leaks.

The poll indicates that for the first time in Obama’s presidency, half of the public says they don't believe he is honest and trustworthy. And Americans are split on the controversial National Security Agency anti-terrorism program to record metadata on U.S. phone calls, but they support the NSA program that targets records of Internet usage by people in other countries. That doesn't mean they necessarily like what is going on: Just over six in 10 believe that government is so large and powerful that it threatens the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans.

A slight majority of those questioned in the poll, which was conducted Tuesday through Thursday of last week, disapprove of the actions of the man who leaked sensitive information about the NSA program. A similar number say Edward Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong, should be brought back to the United States and prosecuted.

The president's approval rating stands at 45%, down from 53% in mid-May. And 54% say they disapprove of how Obama's handling his job, up nine points from last month. It's the first time in CNN polling since November 2011 that a majority of Americans have had a negative view of the president.

"The drop in Obama's support is fueled by a dramatic 17-point decline over the past month among people under 30, who, along with black Americans, had been the most loyal part of the Obama coalition," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The president also dropped 10 points among independent voters, from 47% last month to 37% now, with Obama's disapproval among independents jumping 12 points to 61%.

So, what. He got re-elected. Unless Congress is going to impeach him, it really doesn't matter how popular he is.

Actually, it matters quite a bit. Congressional elections are coming up, and nobody wants to run on the agenda of an unpopular lame duck. If Obama's personal numbers continue to drop, and the scandals erode, not only his, but his party's appeal, we could be looking at a Republican gain of a veto-proof majority in the house and control of the senate. That will mean, among other things, that the senate's agenda will shift to include oversight of Obama's scandals, not to mention the possibility of impeachment, not of Obama, but of Holder and other appointees (there are some IRS commissioners who should be especially nervous about that, as well as some State Deparment appointees). Also, repeal of Obamacare can pass with a simple majority. Obama can veto it, but that will prove to be highly unpopular, and could set the stage for a Republican win in 2016.

Actually, it matters quite a bit. Congressional elections are coming up, and nobody wants to run on the agenda of an unpopular lame duck. If Obama's personal numbers continue to drop, and the scandals erode, not only his, but his party's appeal, we could be looking at a Republican gain of a veto-proof majority in the house and control of the senate. That will mean, among other things, that the senate's agenda will shift to include oversight of Obama's scandals, not to mention the possibility of impeachment, not of Obama, but of Holder and other appointees (there are some IRS commissioners who should be especially nervous about that, as well as some State Deparment appointees). Also, repeal of Obamacare can pass with a simple majority. Obama can veto it, but that will prove to be highly unpopular, and could set the stage for a Republican win in 2016.

In 6 months, the scandals will be forgotten by everyone except the people who hate Obama so much that they can think of nothing else.

And that's a problem because the NSA "scandal" is really about the destruction of privacy and the rights that go with it. That's not an Obama thing--that's a national travesty.

Not to mention the IRS scandal. Libtards fail to realize (among many other things) that if they say this is no big deal, what's to stop a Republican president from having the IRS do this same thing against liberal organizations? Obama will have set a precedence that this type of thing is just fine to do.

Liberals are proof that evolution is only a theory. Nothing that stupid could evolve past a monkey.

In 6 months, the scandals will be forgotten by everyone except the people who hate Obama so much that they can think of nothing else.

Spoken like a true partisan. You act as though these scandals are simply partisan attacks, rather than genuine malfeasance or misconduct, and the implication that those who wish to hold him to account do so out of hatred, rather than a commitment to the Constitution and belief in the rule of law is insulting to us (but of course, that is the intent, is it not?). However, given the nature of the press, which will do everything that it can to bury the scandals, you may be right that the public will lose interest. It is for that reason that I post the following, as a reminder of just how corrupt, dishonest and outright criminal some of the conduct that we are discussing has been, so that if nothing else, you will remember them. Those highlighted in red constitute felonies. Those with a body count are in bold.

It’s easy to forget that the three scandals currently swirling about President Obama are just the latest episodes of potential misdoings by the scandal-plagued Obama administration.

As a refresher, here is a full list of the administration’s most egregious scandals.

1. IRS targets Obama’s enemies: The IRS targeted conservative and pro-Israel groups prior to the 2012 election. Questions are being raised about why this occurred, who ordered it, whether there was any White House involvement and whether there was an initial effort to hide who knew about the targeting and when.

2. Benghazi: This is actually three scandals in one:
■The failure of administration to protect the Benghazi mission.
■The changes made to the talking points in order to suggest the attack was motivated by an anti-Muslim video
■The refusal of the White House to say what President Obama did the night of the attack

3. Watching the AP: The Justice Department performed a massive cull of Associated Press reporters’ phone records as part of a leak investigation.

4. Rosengate: The Justice Department suggested that Fox News reporter James Rosen is a criminal for reporting about classified information and subsequently monitored his phones and emails.

5. Potential Holder perjury I: Attorney General Eric Holder told Congress he had never been associated with “potential prosecution” of a journalist for perjury when in fact he signed the affidavit that termed Rosen a potential criminal.

6. The ATF “Fast and Furious” scheme: Allowed weapons from the U.S. to “walk” across the border into the hands of Mexican drug dealers. The ATF lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which were used in crimes, including the December 2010 killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

7. Potential Holder Perjury II: Holder told Congress in May 2011 that he had just recently heard about the Fast and Furious gun walking scheme when there is evidence he may have known much earlier.

8. Sebelius demands payment: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius solicited donations from companies HHS might regulate. The money would be used to help her sign up uninsured Americans for ObamaCare.

9. The Pigford scandal: An Agriculture Department effort that started as an attempt to compensate black farmers who had been discriminated against by the agency but evolved into a gravy train delivering several billion dollars in cash to thousands of additional minority and female farmers who probably didn’t face discrimination.

10. GSA gone wild: The General Services Administration in 2010 held an $823,000 training conference in Las Vegas, featuring a clown and a mind readers. Resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator.

11. Veterans Affairs in Disney World: The agency wasted more than $6 million on two conferences in Orlando. An assistant secretary was fired.
12. Sebelius violates the Hatch Act: A U.S. special counsel determined that Sebelius violated the Hatch Act when she made “extemporaneous partisan remarks” during a speech in her official capacity last year. During the remarks, Sebelius called for the election of the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina.

13. Solyndra: Republicans charged the Obama administration funded and promoted its poster boy for green energy despite warning signs the company was headed for bankruptcy. The administration also allegedly pressed Solyndra to delay layoff announcements until after the 2010 midterm elections.

14. AKA Lisa Jackson: Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson used the name “Richard Windsor” when corresponding by email with other government officials, drawing charges she was trying to evade scrutiny.

15. The New Black Panthers: The Justice Department was accused of using a racial double standard in failing to pursue a voter intimidation case against Black Panthers who appeared to be menacing voters at a polling place in 2008 in Philadelphia.

16. Waging war all by myself: Obama may have violated the Constitution and both the letter and the spirit of the War Powers Resolution by attacking Libya without Congressional approval.

17. Biden bullies the press: Vice President Biden’s office has repeatedly interfered with coverage, including forcing a reporter to wait in a closet, making a reporter delete photos, and editing pool reports.

18. AKPD not A-OK: The administration paid millions to the former firm of then-White House adviser David Axelrod, AKPD Message and Media, to promote passage of Obamacare. Some questioned whether the firm was hired to help pay Axelrod $2 million AKPD owed him.

19. Sestak, we’ll take care of you: Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel used Bill Clinton as an intermediary to probe whether former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) would accept a prominent, unpaid White House advisory position in exchange for dropping out of the 2010 primary against former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

20. I’ll pass my own laws: Obama has repeatedly been accused of making end runs around Congress by deciding which laws to enforce, including the decision not to deport illegal immigrants who may have been allowed to stay in the United States had Congress passed the “Dream Act.”

Pretend that these are about "hate" all you want, but these are not trivial, and they will not go away.

In 6 months, the scandals will be forgotten by everyone except the people who hate Obama so much that they can think of nothing else.

I love it when the real you stands up.

It's not about disliking this guy. It's about speaking out against his polices, and worst, his corruption. You should be up in arms about the corruption this administration has set forth, from Benghazi, to fast and Furious and the IRS scandal targeting specific political groups, but you're not because, despite all your rantings of fairness, you're a partisan hack.